College entrance scandal: Comeuppance for the status-minded

I'm looking at this nationwide college-admissions bribery caper in the United States with some bemusement, although the authorities are taking it quite seriously.

The story is getting outsize play in the US, mainly because some celebrities have been accused in the racket, in which the FBI charged 50 people - parents, education consultants, private test administrators and athletic coaches. (If you want a guarantee that a story or issue will get exhaustive coverage, just add a celebrity.)

Basically, parents in search of a prestigious credential for their progeny (and likely for their own social media braggadocio) were willing to pay up to hundreds of thousands of dollars for a back door into an Ivy League or other hot school.